


Chronicles Of The Grey

by Lady_La_La



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Mahariel dealing with all this bullshit, She wasn't expecting this, This is pretty much just a writing exercise, Trying to be less trash, What would she have sent to Tamlen?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-01-21 14:36:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12459819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_La_La/pseuds/Lady_La_La
Summary: From letters found in Vigil's Keep, written in the former Warden-Commander's hand. The first few are loose, kept in a halla hide pouch.





	1. Origin

My dearest Tamlen,  
It doesn't feel real. I can barely believe the events of the past few days, since last I saw you... Days, but it feels like only hours. We couldn't find you, so I hope you're still out there somewhere, but the Warden Duncan says you must have been sickened as I was. The Keeper said that it's a miracle that I'm alive at all. We looked for you, Tamlen, Merrill and Fenarel and I, we combed those damn ruins from top to bottom, but all that was left were Darkspawn and that mirror. Duncan shattered it to stop the corruption, and I'm glad for that, I truly am, but it felt like part of me shattered too, knowing it was our only lead to find you.  
He's going to make me a Warden, too, Tamlen, like something out of Paivel's tales, but the Keeper doesn't know if I'll ever be able to return to the clan. It's hard to wrap my head around it, saying goodbye to everyone we've ever loved... Merrill doesn't have many other people she talks to, so I worry about her, saying goodbye to her was almost as hard as saying goodbye to Ashalle. I'm afraid to leave, if I'm honest with myself, Duncan is polite, but a stranger who's leading me away from the only kind of life I know how to live.  
He isn't as bad as some of the shemlen we've met, though, you might even like him. He knew what our tattoos meant, even asked me about mine. He seemed interested in the tales I told him of Falon'Din, and the other Creators, and telling stories makes the travel easier. He's a good listener, it reminds me of the children in our clan. Creators, I already miss them so much. Keeper Marethari says they're going to leave soon, since those hunters we let go told the humans nearby that we're in the forest, and there's a Blight coming.  
Duncan is taking me to a place called Ostagar, to fight alongside the rest of the Wardens and stop it from spreading to the rest of Ferelden, and the human king's army will be there, too. I'm afraid, Tamlen, this seems too much out of the stories, and those never end this cleanly. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see.  
I miss you, Tamlen, and I'll write again soon.

Your  
Selune


	2. Ostagar

My dearest Tamlen,  
We arrived at Ostagar this morning, and it's a place like nothing we've ever seen. The barking of dogs, the ring of swords, the clatter of armor, all the noise is nearly overwhelming, but I think I might even like it. The people are odd; many of the other elves are servants, always running from place to place on errands from Lord something-or-other, but there are a few among the other Wardens and the mages. Circle mages, Tamlen, and Templars to watch them.  
I could wander (and did wander) for hours. I spoke to a group of men who called themselves Ash Warriors, who fight with giant war dogs at their side, far larger than a Dalish courser. The human priests are as high strung as they've always seemed when we traded with their villages, so naturally I swapped the contents of a few of their purses with pebbles. I like to think you'd have liked it, it was almost too easy. Most of the others mistook me for one of the servants at first, until they realize that I don't flinch when spoken to. I would have thought that my arms and armor or vallaslin would have tipped them off, but I suppose it doesn't matter if humans are in the woods or a war camp; some of them are just blind.  
I already met the other new recruits, two more human men. One calls himself Daveth, and I swear I've seen him before. He says he came from a village close to the Woods, so maybe I saw him when we traded, but I'm not sure. All I do know is that he seems too smooth and thinks that he's a great charmer. The other is a knight from some city or another, Ser Jory. He seems alright, I'm not sure he knows what to make of me, but he's polite and seems as eager as anyone to see this Blight end. He has a wife and baby waiting for him and hearing him speak of them just makes me miss our clan. I wonder if I'll be able to return when this is over. I hope I'll be alive to even consider it.  
I still feel this sickness burning through me, though I've been able to stay standing with an elfroot tonic so far. There's going to be a battle tonight, so I hope whatever cure the Wardens have works quickly; I don't think I'll be able to last through more than a few skirmishes, potions or no.  
I need to go find a Warden called Alistair, he's going to help us with whatever initiation ritual we're supposed to go through, but I'll try to write again before the battle.

Your  
Selune


	3. Vir Banal'ras

Dear Tamlen,   
It's been three days since I last wrote, and it seems like the world will never stop changing. I survived the Wardens' Joining ritual, but that was the only fortunate thing. The battle at Ostagar was lost, Tamlen, all the rest of the Wardens and the human king perished. Teyrn Loghain, one of the human leaders, chose a Blight, of all times, to betray his own army.   
Vir Banal'ras. The path whispered about when the night was dark, but never one I thought I'd take, and why would I? I understand now. I will stop this human lord, before his actions place our clan at further risk. I'm afraid, after all, they might not have been able to flee fast enough. While I was recovering from the battle, they may already have been overtaken by this horror. So I will undertake the Way of Shadows, against him and against the Blight itself, for you and our clan.   
I would have died, too, if a legend hadn't walked out of the mist to save me and the only other remaining Warden, Alistair. Asha'bellanar is real. I feel like I'm in one of Paivel's stories; I know our clan dealt with her in the past, but I never imagined I'd stand face to face with her. She saved me so we can defeat the Blight, so she says, but are things ever that simple with her? I keep going over everything she said in the two times I met her. She said one of the Warden recruits I was traveling with was "irrelevant I the grand scheme of things," and he died before the battle even began. Could she have sensed this?   
She sent her daughter, Morrigan with us, to help us leave the Wilds and defeat the Blight. She speaks oddly, but she's not bad company. She can handle herself in a fight, and doesn't suffer foolishness. Given time, I think we might be able to understand each other, at the very least.   
It's late, Tamlen, and we move out at first light. 

I still miss you,   
Selune


End file.
